NEW YORK -- Johnny Manziel is already paying off for the Cleveland Browns.
Battista: The fall and rise of Johnny
Judy Battista provides a behind-the-scenes look at Johnny Manziel's draft-day wait ... and eventual selection. **READ**
Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer reported Friday that -- less than 24 hours after drafting the electric quarterback from Texas A&M -- the club has sold 2,300 season tickets in the form of new members and renewals. That includes 1,000 sold during the draft's first round.
Cabot was told earlier in the day that calls were "still pouring in" from a fan base that saw newbie general manager Ray Farmer wheel and deal his way through the first round with a trio of trades that ultimately brought Johnny Football to town at No. 22.
The move also delivered tangible hope to a city that hasn't enjoyed a franchise passer since Bernie Kosar whipped sidearm darts through the chill of old Municipal Stadium. When Kosar was unceremoniously cut by Bill Belichick in November of 1993, Manziel was a 1-year-old bundle of joy in Tyler, Texas.
Two decades later, his tumble through the first round kept Manziel in the picture for most of the night, a major boon for the event's record-setting TV ratings, which went off like a megaton bomb:
That's an argument the NFL could use to keep the draft embedded in May, but first consider this, Mr. Shadowy League Figure: Next year's whirlwind won't be graced by the needle-moving Johnny Football. He's Cleveland's now.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" provides instant reaction to all the wild happenings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
